Natural cellulosic feedstocks are typically referred to as “biomass.” Many types of biomass, including wood, paper, agricultural residues, herbaceous crops, and lignocellulosic municipal and industrial solid wastes have been considered as feedstocks for the production and preparation of a wide range of goods. Thus, successful commercial use of biomass as a chemical feedstock depends on the separation of the various constituents thereof. Many steps are often required in production, harvesting, storage, transporting, and processing of biomass to yield useful products. One step in the processing is the separation, or fractionation, of biomass into its major components: hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin of the biomass. Many approaches have been investigated for disentangling the complex structure. Many of these approaches, however, require the use of harsh, non-environmentally friendly chemicals and/or conditions to break the biomass down into its individual components.
Once separation into components has been achieved, a variety of paths are then opened for further processing of each component into marketable products. For example, the possibility of producing products such as biofuels, polymers and latex replacements, from biomass has recently received much attention. This attention is due to the availability of large amounts of cellulosic feedstock, the need to minimize burning or landfilling of waste cellulosic materials, and the usefulness of sugar and cellulose as raw materials substituting for oil-based products. Other biomass constituents, such as lignins, extractives, and proteins from the natural cellulosic feedstock, also have potential market value.
Thus there is a need for improved systems and methods for separating solid biomass into its constituent components that take into consideration factors such as environmental and energy concerns, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.